BUTTER CHICKEN
Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish from the Punjab region popular in countries all over the world that have a tradition of Indian restaurants.



Preparation Time : 4- 6 hours
Cooking Time : 30-40 minutes
Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS
Chicken 800 grams
Lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Butter 2 tablespoons
For marinade
Yogurt 1 cup
Salt to taste
Garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon
Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
Ginger paste 2 tablespoons
Lemon juice 2 tablespoons
Mustard oil 2 tablespoons

FOR MAKHNI GRAVY

Butter 50 grams
Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
Green chillies, chopped 4-5
Red chilli powder 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) 1/2 teaspoon
Whole garam masala 1 tablespoon
Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
Tomato puree 400 grams
Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon
Honey 2 tablespoons
Cream 1 cup

METHOD
Make incisions with a sharp knife on breast and leg pieces of the chicken. Apply a mixture of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken and set aside for half an hour. Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water. Add red chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil. Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and refrigerate for three to four hours. Put the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or a preheated oven (200°C) for ten to twelve minutes or until almost done. Baste it with butter and cook for another two minutes. Remove and set aside. Heat butter in a pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté for two minutes, add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chillies. Cook for two minutes. Add tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and one cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add sugar or honey and powdered kasoori methi. Add cooked tandoori chicken pieces. Simmer for five minutes and then add fresh cream. Serve hot with naan or parantha.

Recipe Tip :
Heat kasoori methi in the oven for sometime or broil kasoori methi on a tawa/griddle plate to make it crisp. It can easily be crushed to a powder with your hand.